Pieces of it All
by Gummy Kitten
Summary: He couldn't deny his feelings within, but he could have kept them inside if it hadn't been for a meddling psychic. Now Zoro knows, and there's no telling what he'll do about it. ZoSan Slash.
1. Part 1

Sanji hummed, tossing the chopped onions as they sizzled among the oil, parsley, and other seasonings within the pan. He didn't know the name of the tune, or most of the words. Everyone once in a while he'd remember a lyric and sing a word or two, but his mind was elsewhere.

Nami, Robin, and the others had all gone inland to explore, shop, eat, or do whatever it is marimos, talking reindeer, cyborg shipwrights, sharpshooters, and musical skeletons do. He made sure to tell Luffy not to eat too much, because he was planning something extensively special. Mainly for the ladies but out of duty he'd let the men partake. All though, such advice was hardly necessary and more just a habit, as he didn't think it was possible to satisfy Luffy's appetite.

He was just finishing up the chorus of the song, singing the last few words when he heard feint sound of footsteps outside the kitchen, stopped his humming abruptly, and looked back over his shoulder.

He expected just a glimpse of someone walking by, but what he got was a surprised-eyed swordsman, looking in at him with a frown that was either confusion or annoyance. Neither made any sense, since Sanji had announced that he was staying back at the ship to cook. The marimo's memory must've been as bad as his navigational skills if he was surprised or disappointed to see Sanji there.

"Food's not ready yet." Sanji said. "Go take a nap or something."

Sanji was expecting a retort, even after he turned back to the task at hand, but there was nothing. Just more footsteps. He listened as they slowly became too far off to hear.

Damn shitty swordsman, what the hell was his problem? Maybe he got lost or something and had to have a 10-year-old show him the way back to the docks. That might put him in a sour mood.

It had been just a few months since the nine of them had reunited at Sabaody. After two years in Kamabakka Kingdom, Sanji had expected that his attraction for Nami and Robin would at least double. And he'd been more than correct, so correct it almost killed him according to Chopper. But in another way, he'd been wrong. He was almost certain that the moment he laid eyes on his two beautiful crewmates in contrast to those grotesque beasts he'd spent so much time running from, they would be all that clouded his mind from then on.

For almost the entire first year, Sanji spent his time missing. Missing his crew, his kitchen on the Sunny, missing the ability to go through a day without running for his life or dignity. Missing Nami, and her cute, smart, manipulative personality, missing Robin and her chillaxed manner, the way she'd simply laugh quietly at his advances. But that wasn't all… no, 'wasn't all' is an understatement, none of those things were what he missed most.

The second year, he was still missing, but not as exclusively. He was able to focus more on what he was trying to accomplish before he returned to where he wanted to return to. By the end, he was sure that he'd changed. Matured, in some way, and would be able to leave certain thoughts and feelings from the past behind, the ones that only caused him grief. He thought he'd be able to face them, and then forget.

But he was wrong.

Zoro was an asshole. He was an asshole that cared, but would go eons out of his way to avoid showing it in most situations. He was honest, though, at least for Sanji, that was something he could always count on Zoro to be, at least when it came to the negative things.

"This soup is too sweet. It's disgusting…" When Luffy had accidentally knocked a bag of sugar into the pot. Sanji had tried to counteract it, as they were low on supplies and he couldn't make a new batch. But changing or deleting the taste of that much sugar was near impossible. It wasn't disgusting, Sanji would argue, but it wasn't good either. The others pretended, (side Luffy who probably didn't even taste it as he poured it down his throat) Zoro just barked whatever popped into his head.

"You look like a retard in that." The first thing Zoro said to him when Sanji came back from spending the day with a lovely young girl who knitted. She'd made him the sweater, and all though it had its imperfections, he would honor her by wearing it.

"You smell like something took a shit on you." An uninhabited island, littered with swamps. Sanji had been trying to pick a few rare fruits when he lost his balance and fell off the tree branch and into a bog.

"You can't expect me to eat something that looks like a rainbow threw up on it." It was Chopper's birthday and Sanji had made an especially colorful dish in his honor.

"I laugh myself to sleep thinking about your eyebrows." , "You'd probably cry harder than any woman if I ripped up those ugly suits of yours." , "Maybe you wouldn't suck so bad in a fight if you used both your eyes."

Sanji snickered at the irony of the last one as it ran through his head. The only thing Zoro lied about was Sanji's food. He said he hated it, and ate every bite. Not to mention Sanji had more confidence in his cooking still than to think anyone with properly aligned taste buds could possibly hate it.

These things didn't piss Sanji off though, more like revved him up. He and Zoro were rivals, after all, and always looking for new ways to insult each other, stir something up, start a fight or an argument. Zoro's annoying mouth was the only thing in the world that could distract him from wooing a beautiful woman, and in the beginning, that's what scared him the most.

It developed slowly throughout the months. Over time Sanji looked forward to bickering with the idiot swordsman just as much as he did to treating Nami and Robin, and after a while, more so. Then he started noticing little things about Zoro, little admirable things. His dedication to a fight, his respect and recognition for Luffy as captain, his overwhelming perception of who he was as a person. Many people go through their lives not knowing who they truly are, but Zoro knew. His place, his duty, his desires, his ambitions… it was as if Zoro had it all figured out.

Under all this realization, Sanji came to the conclusion that he wanted to be Zoro's friend. They were nakama, and would defend and fight aside each other out of duty to the crew, but was it friendship, or just camaraderie? He wanted to care about Zoro, to help him realize his ambition, to be able to encourage him and treat him like a human being rather than an annoying marimo with swords that was just in the way.

But Zoro left no space for that, and Sanji was too afraid of the change to push. So he became accustomed to it. Hating Zoro became a game he played along with, an insincere act that he quickly grew tired of. It was easy when Zoro was being an asshole, when he said stupid shit, or did stupid things. But when Zoro was serious, and Sanji wanted to back him up, there was nothing. He wanted to, but he couldn't, he had to keep playing in apathy.

Nami and Robin were beautiful in every way. They had personality, ambition, and determination. But Zoro had something neither of them could have, did something for Sanji that neither of them ever could, and it wasn't long before Sanji's perverted dreams featured more green than black or red.

It was strange at first, he ran from it for a while, but now he'd long since accepted it. He let it in, but he didn't dare act on it. He felt it, allowed it, was almost proud of it, but more than anything he wanted it to go away. Because Zoro would never return it, and it's when that fact reared its ugly head that it started to hurt.

He thought, after two years, it would go away. But it didn't. The moment he laid eyes on Zoro, everything flooded back. It was like falling in love all over again and he was just as hopeless to stop it as last time. Now, two months later, he was stuck in the same boat as before.

"Thanje!" Sanji heard the familiar voice and could only assume that was some distorted version of his name caused by a mouth full of something Sanji had told Luffy not to consume.

"Wath fo' dinner?" Luffy strolled into the kitchen, and Sanji was quick to roundhouse kick him straight back out the door.

"You apparently already ate." He shouted, and went back to stir-frying the last of the vegetables.

Nami and Robin walked in together, Nami with four bag handles over her arms and Robin with two.

"Welcome back ladies!~" Sanji shouted, noticing that the pair were in some new attire. "Love the new outfits, they look gorgeous on the two of you!" With a sing-song voice, he finished up the sauce and veggies, and mixed them in a bowl. He sprinkled a few last-minute seasonings, and placed the entirety of his special dish in front of each of them just as they sat.

"Thanks, Sanji-kun." Nami said in a tired voice as she dropped her bags next to her. "Do us a favor and take these bags to our room?"

"Anything for you, my dears!" Zero hesitation, and Sanji was out the kitchen door carrying the results of their shopping as he zipped past Usopp, Franky, Chopper and Brook as they entered.

When Sanji returned from his mission of love, the table was almost fully seated. Two places were missing, his own, and the usual.

"Damn it that shit swordsman." Sanji crossed his arms. "Can't he learn to come when it's meal time?"

"Maybe we could teach him." Usopp shrugged.

"Yeah, like a dog!" Luffy agreed with much enthusiasm as he snatched a large piece of chicken from Brook's plate.

"I didn't see him come back." Nami said, looking back and Sanji. "Maybe he's lost?"

"No, he came back here." Sanji shook his head and walked to his seat, deciding not to worry about it. "I saw him."

"Maybe he got bad news about food poisoning or something and doesn't want to eat for a while." Franky suggested.

"My food would never poison someone!" Sanji knocked him over the head. "And what do you mean, bad news?"

"Miss Navigator and I met up with Franky and Brook as we left one of the first shops and saw him go into a fortune house." Robin explained.

"Fortune house?" Chopper's eyes got really big.

"They're not uncommon." Franky added. "Usually fakes though, just take your money and tell you bullshit."

"Wouldn't that be cool though?" Usopp was already imagining the possibilities. "You could find out what your highest bounty will be, or if you're going to achieve your dream, when you're going to die." He was already planning a trip to said fortune house in his head as he spoke.

Nami shrugged. "That stuff's more fun to find out on your own." She said. "Zoro knows that, why would he go into one of those things?"

"Maybe he wanted to find something else out." Luffy said. "Like what dinner was going to be that day."

"Yohohohoho." Brook cut in. "The possibilities are endless. You could probably discover what someone you care about is doing at the moment, or find out how much the people around you truly care."

Sanji's ears perked up, and his eyes darkened.

"I'll bet he was just lost and asking for directions." Nami rolled her eyes. "Anyway, someone should go wake him up before Luffy eats his share."

"I'll go." Sanji got up, without having touched his food, and walked out.

"Can I eat his?" Luffy asked.

"No!" Nami shouted.

Sanji found Zoro near the stern of the ship, in one of his usual napping places, yet not exactly napping. He had his arms folded behind his head, and he was scowling up at the sky, like he hated how blue it was.

Sanji gathered himself, pushing away all the thoughts and bullshit possibilities, and approached the swordsman like he normally would.

"Hey. Food." Sanji said with no emotion. Zoro didn't even look at him.

"Just bring me some booze." He said.

Sanji stared down at him for a while, and then nudged him hard in the shin with the tip of his foot.

"Owe, the hell?" Zoro barked, and finally looked at him.

"I said it's time to eat." Sanji insisted. "You can sulk and drink all you want after you get your nutrition, idiot marimo." With that, he turned around, and started to walk away.

"Oi, Cook!" Zoro shouted, and his voice tone caught Sanji off guard. It wasn't pissed off, it wasn't irritated, it wasn't anything. Just a natural way to call out to someone, and communication between Sanji and Zoro was never natural.

Sanji stopped, took a breath, and turned back around, putting on his annoyed face for good measure. As soon as their eyes met, Zoro's faltered, and he looked down again.

"Nevermind." Zoro got up, and walked past Sanji toward the kitchen. He bumped Sanji's shoulder as he walked passed, perhaps out of habit. Sanji stared down at the floor boards in front of him, unable to read whether whatever was wrong with the marimo had to do with him or not. There was definitely something different, and as absurd as it was, he wondered… did he know?

No. No way. If he knew, at very best, Zoro wouldn't be speaking to him. Whatever the fortuneteller told him, though, it was getting to him for sure. Zoro had hardly been out for a half hour, and if that's what he did, he didn't have time to do anything else. What else could it have been?

Sanji wanted to ask, wanted to help, but once again, he was powerless. His help wasn't the kind that Zoro needed, or wanted. He'd turn to any of the others, Robin, Luffy, even Usopp before Sanji. It was only natural.

But Sanji knew that wasn't the case, he wouldn't ask anyone for help. Like the lone dumbass marimo swordsman he was, he'd sulk for a while, and get over it on his own.

Sanji clawed his hand against his shirt, and squeezed the material into his fist.

Two Hours Earlier

Zoro sized up the weird looking structure in front of him. It looked old, had a funny shape to it, and the sign was barely legible with all the fading and mud. Up close, he could just barely make out the words 'Eda's Fortune House' in dark brown on light brown wood above the doorway.

What caught his eye were the two swords mounted on the wall when he glanced in through the window. They didn't look like they were for sale, in fact he doubted this place sold anything material, but anyone with swords had to know where a sword smith was located.

Deciding to ignore the creepy aura, he pushed the door open, and cringed. He'd expected some creaking, but it was so damn loud he felt like the whole town was hearing it. He tried to stop it by going slowly, but that just made it worse until he was finally inside, and it fell shut behind him.

The inside looked run down. There were more than just swords mounted around the room. Countless knickknacks with no pattern or artful taste were littered everywhere, but seemed placed there with purpose rather than mindlessly thrown. There was a crumpled piece of paper next to an upright standing jewel encrusted cross. An empty soup can, a tooth pick, a napkin, all of them seeming to share some meaning among the more practical items. Some of the pieces were dusty, old, and looked like they'd been there for years. Others looked brand new, like they'd just been picked up that day.

Zoro cleared his throat "'Scuse me!" He called out. "Anyone in here?"

He heard a distinct cough from the next room. For a while after, there was only silence. He was about to call out again, when suddenly a door near the back of the store, one he hadn't noticed before unlatched. It slowly swung open, and revealed a very short, wrinkled woman with an unpleasant look in her eye.

"Are you a customer?" She asked.

"Oh…" He scratched his head. "No, I just-,"

"I believe you are." She interrupted, voice full of a strange sort of whimsy as she walked further into the room. As she walked, she stayed along the wall where many of the objects rested on shelves. She ran her hand near them, though not touching any of them.

"I'm just here for directions." Zoro argued, and as soon as he spoke, the tips of the woman's fingers touched one of the items. She looked, and it was a gold coin. Zoro saw it too, and decided to remember to keep Nami away from this place. It must've been worth at least a few thousand berries, and wasn't exactly well guarded.

"You're a pirate." The woman said, and kept walking with her arm outstretched. Zoro watched curiously this time, wondering what kind of trick she was trying to pull.

She stopped again when her fingers touched something else. One of the swords mounted on the wall that he'd noticed before. "You are a swordsman." She said, running her fingers back and forth.

Zoro snorted. "You can tell that by looking at my swords, and you can tell I'm a pirate if you've seen my bounty poster." He said. "I didn't come here to play games, I just need to know-,"

"A great swordsman." She added, and her hand fell away from the sword. Zoro scoffed, thinking she simply could have guessed that, or said it out of flattery hoping he'd give her something to pocket.

She kept going, her hand stopped on what appeared to be a dream catcher. "You have strong ambition." She said, and moved on. Her hand touched a coiled up paper, perhaps a map. "You seek…" She kept going until her hand came in contact with one of two skulls placed next to each other. "…a man?" She kept going, until she touched the final item, which was a simple brown feather

"Hawk?' She picked it up, brought it in front of her face and examined it. "Mihawk?" She suggested, as if it were a guess.

"Nice try." Zoro scoffed. "But I already found him."

She laughed, a very strained, throaty laughed, and walked away from the wall to move in front of him. "Just because you've already found him doesn't mean you do not still seek him." She said, and Zoro's eyes just narrowed. He didn't bother to try and understand the crazy old hag.

"Look, I'm just trying to find a swords smith." He said. "I saw the swords you have and I was hoping you could point me in the right direction."

"A strong force follows you." She said, eyes flicking toward the door. "Something from the outside." She tilted her head back, as if to sniff the air, then looked back at him, a sinister grin stretching across her face.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked.

"The hell?" Zoro scoffed. "No, sorry, you're wrong on that one. Now tell me where I-,"

"Shut up." She said. "That wasn't a telling, I was simply asking. There is a strong essence of care for you from the outside, and it's unlike yours, meaning it isn't a close relative."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" The entire thing had gone right over his head.

"It means someone cares deeply about you." She said.

"I'm part of a pretty buddy-buddy crew, so I'd expect something like that." He crossed his arms, becoming increasingly annoyed.

"Some do not believe in the difference between love that is for friends, and love that is for lovers, but there is an immense difference." Her smile never faltered. It was creepy, and Zoro was about ready to walk out and find someone else to tell him the way.

"This is not friendship." She raised and index finger and wagged it back and forth.

"Nice try, but I'm really not interested in that sort of thing." He turned around, and took a step toward the door.

"The swords smith around here is an old friend of mine." She called out, and he stopped in his tracks. "I know the way."

When he looked back, she had sat down in a dusty old rocking chair that looked like no one had sat in it for centuries.

"Allow me to give you a free reading about this individual, and I'll tell you the way."

Zoro considered, but shook his head. "Sorry, lady. I don't think I want to know." If this chick was legitimate and someone really did have some romantic feelings for him, he didn't want to deal with it. He didn't know any girls that he was interested in, and knowing one was interested in him would just make things more difficult whenever they next met.

"What are you so afraid of?" She mocked, and Zoro's hand curled into a fist. "Afraid to face some real feelings? Afraid to be faced with a predicament you can't slice in half?" Her tone was venomous. "Out there is a person that spends hours brooding over you, and you're simply going to walk away from that?"

Zoro scoffed, and sighed, turning back toward her. If he could face enemies twice as strong that wanted to kill him, he could face whatever the hell this was. It's not like it would matter in the end. And besides, maybe he was a little curious.

Present Time

"Where are you going so early in the morning?"

Zoro stopped at the sound of the familiar voice behind him. He looked back to see Nami, huddled up in a blanket and looking like she just woke up.

"I have to check something." Zoro said. "I'll be back." With that, he hopped off the ship, and headed inland.

Sanji had a hard time sleeping the entire night, so when the sound of one of his roommates attempting to quietly leave the room hit his ears, he was awake in a flash.

He watched quietly through half-hooded eyes as Zoro jumped out of his hammock, and crept toward the exit. Sanji stared after him with wondering eyes, now more certain than ever that something was wrong. The marimo never woke up early. Never.

He'd been brooding half the night. There'd always been something impossible about sleeping in the same room as Zoro. Unless he was at peace enough to fall asleep as soon as he hit the pillow, that room was hell. He had a perfect view of Zoro's hammock from his. All he had to do was turn his head to the side a little, and he could see everything. The look on his face, his chest moving up and down as he breathed, all of it was so peaceful in contrast to the way he was when he was awake.

Sanji hadn't stopped fighting the thoughts pertaining to the urges to crawl in with him. He still had his dignity as a man and that was an almost disturbingly feminine mindset. The thought of rubbing his cheek against that firm chest, resting it there like a pillow, Zoro sleepily wrapping his strong arms around Sanji's narrow waste, Zoro spreading his legs a little so Sanji could rest comfortably between them…

Sanji pulled the covers over his head.

Zoro kissing the top of his head… Zoro whispering incoherence into his ear…

Zoro.

"Back so soon?" The fortune teller- Eda- laughed when Zoro practically stormed through the door.

"I have more questions for you." He said. "I'll pay this time." He pulled a crumpled pile of bills from his pocket.

"So now we're a curious young man." She smiled, and then began to cough. Zoro walked up to her hastily, a little panicked, and held out some of the money.

"Tell me something about my childhood friend." He demanded. "The one that died."

The woman's smile disappeared, and she looked at him, almost sadly. When she held out her hand, the first thing it fell upon was one of Zoro's swords, the Wado Ichimonji.

"Was this his?" She asked, delicately.

"Hers, yes." Zoro answered. As if guided, Eda moved to the far side of the wall where there was a closed door. Slowly, she pushed the door open, and stopped, gazing into the room. It wasn't a room, though, it was a cellar entrance, nothing visible but stairs.

"She fell?" Eda asked, and Zoro nodded.

From there she moved a few steps to the left, where she reached back behind what looked like a music box and a leather bag, pulling back a very small object.

"You have a strong bond with her, even now." She held the item tightly in her fist for a moment, and then turned around, holding it out to show him. It was two arrowheads, one mounted atop the other, pointing in different directions- though not opposite.

Zoro nodded, and held more money out to her. "Now tell me how I got this scar." He raised his hand to the collar of his shirt, and pulled it aside to reveal the deep stitches, still more than apparent after two years.

The woman was taken aback for a moment, but, following her customer's request, she turned her head, and her eyes fell upon the same hawk feather she'd picked up the day before.

…..

"Are you convinced now?" The woman stood just inside the doorway as Zoro walked out. He stopped at the bottom of the steps that lead out, and just stared at the ground.

"Not quite." He said. "I'm convinced that you can tell me my past, and everything about me without being told…"

Eda ducked a few steps within, a little disappointed, but not too surprised.

"…But I'll have to see the present for myself." He decided. "Thanks for the tip, though." With that, he waved her off, and instead of heading back toward the sunny, he started in the direction she'd pointed him in for the sword smith the day before. He'd freaked out so much over what she'd shown him, he forgot to go.

"You were out longer than you said you'd be." Nami said as Zoro stepped back onto the Sunny's deck, this time sitting in a lounge share with a book in her lap.

"I ended up doing more than I originally planned." He said. He wanted to say something like 'Who are you, my mom?' like he should have, like he would have if some crazy shit wasn't floating around in his head.

"Sanji's in the middle of breakfast, so stick around if you want to eat." Nami called to him, and Zoro cringed at the name. The last thing he wanted to do was run into the damn cook. He wouldn't know what to say when he did.

"Robin-chwan." Sanji said delicately. Robin looked up from her book in askance. "I'm so sorry to interrupt your reading time, but there was something I wanted to ask of you, if you don't mind."

Robin smiled, and nodded, folding over the page she was on to turn her full attention to him.

"I was just wondering about that fortune house you mentioned earlier." He said. "Could you tell me where it's at?"

Robin chuckled. "Curious to know something you're not supposed to know?" She asked.

Sanji snorted and crossed his arms. "No, unlike a certain marimo, I'm a little more adventurous than that. But there is something I need to ask about."

"Something to do with said marimo?" Robin suggested with her typical cool smile.

"Oh, Robin my dear, you're always so sharp, I can hardly keep up." Sanji sung, even though he wasn't feeling all that musical.

She laughed a little more. "Sure, I can show you the way."

"It's a date then!" Sanji said joyfully, throwing his hands in the air and spinning out of the room. "See you after breakfast!" He shouted, and then stopped abruptly when he nearly ran into another person.

"The hell, shit swordsman!" He snapped at the green framed face. Just like before, Zoro looked surprised as hell. Not pissed, or barking insults right back like he should have been. Instead, he opened his mouth to speak, and nothing came out. "Get out of the way." Sanji ordered, trying to ignore how strange Zoro was continuing to act.

With a few more moments, Zoro's surprise turned to his typical glare, and he walked around Sanji with a mumbled "whatever."

Sanji tried not to think about how close his face had been to Zoro's at that moment, nor the way he'd almost gotten lost in those green eyes when they were that close. He had the finishing touches to breakfast to focus on, and then he'd get to the bottom of whatever was making Zoro act… different.

Zoro was annoyed. He'd gone out of his way to avoid the kitchen so he didn't have to face the dumb blond, and he wasn't even in the kitchen! Worse, he'd made a complete idiot of himself.

He was also surprised to find Robin sitting near the aquarium when he walked in. Perhaps not that surprised, as she did spend a lot of time there, but he was hoping to be alone. At least that explained what Sanji was doing there. That's right, Sanji was obsessed with Robin and with Nami, with women.

Zoro decided not to be late for breakfast to avoid further suspicion. Of course, he hadn't meant _not late_ to mean _early_, and he certainly hadn't meant to be the first one there. He would've walked out immediately had Sanji not made eye contact the moment he stepped in.

"Oh look, someone's finally enthusiastic about a healthy diet." Sanji teased, and picked up one of the less artistically decorated plate of pancakes. He set it in front of Zoro as he sat down.

"Shut up, shit cook. I was just hungry." That came out surprisingly authentic, and Zoro's confidence level over the whole thing went up a notch. "Doesn't matter how much the food sucks."

"Oi, marimo." Sanji said, still standing next to Zoro with his arms crossed. "Something up?" He asked, as casually as possible.

Zoro froze, and his confidence level on the matter dropped two or three notches.

"You're acting extra idiotic." Sanji said, which was his way of saying 'different.'

Zoro took a deep, inaudible breath, gathered himself, and shoved a rather large bite of pancake into his mouth. "The hell are you talking about?" He asked while chewing, and got a smack in the back of the head.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Sanji said, and walked back to finish putting the finishing touches on Nami and Robin's plates. Zoro watched him carefully as he did, and was surprised when Sanji started to hum. It was like he'd forgotten Zoro was there, or didn't really know he was doing it. Maybe he just didn't find it embarrassing, but there he was, humming away with a dumb smirk on his face like everything was right with the world because he made pretty pancakes for Nami and Robin.

Luffy was the second one there, which was something that didn't happen very often. As soon as he spotted Zoro sitting there eating, he pounced.

"How much have you eaten without me?" He flailed around Zoro's plate, and Zoro just quietly took his bites as if nothing was going on.

"Luffy!" Sanji shouted. "Sit down before you break something!" He was already headed over with an especially big plate of pancakes, more than double what was on the others.

"Whoo!" Luffy sat down in his chair, picked up his knife and fork and started pounding his fists against the table. He continued to do so until Sanji placed the plate in front of him, and then dug in. The almost mind blowing thing was that before he took the first bite, or more, shoved the entire first pancake down his throat, he took time to say "Sanji's pancakes are the best!"

The grin that appeared on Sanji's face was one of the most sincere that Zoro had ever seen. He always smiled like that when Nami or Robin said his name, or asked him a favor (ordered him around like a slave), but it almost seemed more like a duty he simply had to fulfill. To dote on those two and make them feel like their every move, and every word that came out of their mouths was special was like his job. A job he loved, no doubt, but still just a job.

But it was so much brighter, so much more real, just because Luffy complimented his cooking. He did that every day, but there was something special about Luffy pausing his eating-machine just to say he loved something in particular, and Sanji had apparently caught it.

Zoro wondered, if he were to admit how good Sanji's food was as opposed to saying it sucked, would Sanji smile like that?

Robin had no trouble locating the fortune house for Sanji like he'd ask. For the entire walk there, he was dreading the thought of asking her to leave, as this was something he wanted to do alone. Would he have the strength to ask Robin to leave if she had any desire to stay? To his luck, the everlasting intuition of Nico Robin didn't fail, and she simply wished him luck, and left on her own.

Sanji puffed as his cigarette as he looked over the building. It didn't look like the type of place a real fortuneteller would do business in. If this character was legitimate, he or she probably would have made plenty of money in no time and be able to afford something that, at very least, wasn't falling apart. So far, this wasn't all that promising.

The door creaked loudly as he walked inside, so much so that it almost left his ears ringing. When he stepped in, there was an old woman seated in a rocking chair, but not rocking. Her hand was rested gently on her cheek, and she was looking directly at him, shamelessly observing him.

"Excuse me, ma'am." He said, trying to ignore the creepy aura. "There's something I wanted to ask you, if that's all right."

"1000 berries per fortune." She said in a well-practiced manner, a phrase she probably repeated multiple times a day, everyday for years.

"Oh, no." He shook his head, smiling politely for good measure. "Not anything like that, just a simple question."

"What?" She snorted, disappointed. "Are you looking for a sword smith too?"

Sanji blinked. "Sword smith?" He questioned, and suddenly the idea of Zoro walking into a place like this made more sense. Even more so when Sanji spotted the dusty swords mounted on the wall. "Did a muscle-head with green hair come in here asking for a sword smith?"

"That's a pretty accurate description." She laughed a little, and, as if having taken a heavier interest, stood up from her seat. "Your aura seems almost familiar to me, but I'm not sure I can place it."

Sanji blinked, profoundly confused, but decided not to question whatever she was going on about. "I'm just curious about what you told him." He said. "He's been acting different, and I heard he came here."

Some realization dawned on her. "You care about him." She tilted her head. "I see you smoke cigarettes as well."

Sanji wondered what kind of psychic she had to be to figure that one out, seeing as he had one hanging from his lips at that very moment.

She regarded him for a few more moments, before she began to explain. "It doesn't really work that way." She said. "I didn't really tell him anything. A customer asks a question, and I am drawn to the pieces of whatever relate to the answer. They're the ones who can make the best sense of it, though I am pretty good at guessing what they mean after all these years."

"What were the pieces to his answer?" Sanji asked, looking over all the dusty knickknacks in the room. She had just about one of everything, from beautiful tapestries that appeared priceless to rocks that you'd find on the side of the road.

The woman looked off to her left, as if to think. "The first was a cigarette butt." She said, and pointed to its location on one of the shelves. Sanji looked at it, watching the smoke from his own cigarette drift in front of the view.

"The second…" She nodded behind Sanji. "…The ocean in that painting." He looked back to see an almost uncanny portrait of a large ship with many sails silhouetted on an ocean sunset. It was beautiful, even in the dusky light and hardly any windows. It was almost like a window itself, as if he was seeing the ocean through a picture frame.

"At that point he didn't seem to have a clue what the objects were trying to tell him." Her voice was emotionless, as if she knew exactly the sort of thing she was revealing. "It was the apron that finally flipped some switch inside him." She nodded toward it, draped over the back of a wooden chair against the wall near the door. Ironically enough, it looked almost exactly like the one Sanji most often wore.

"He ran out of here like his robe was on fire." She sighed. "After that he came back to test my skills, find out whether my talents were true by asking things that I'd never know."

Sanji's voice shook. "What was the question?" He asked. "The first one he asked."

"He asked…" She was sure he already knew, just needed to hear it. "…who it was that truly loved him." She worded it in the most positive way she could, but it didn't seem to make a difference to Sanji.

He was staring at the floor with dark eyes, hands shoved in his pockets. This was exactly what he'd been dreading- avoiding in his mind, but dreading. Zoro knew. He might've been confused for the time being, but eventually he'd pull himself together, and Sanji knew how it would be. Assuming he didn't try and get Sanji kicked out of the crew or kill him, he'd be dropped as a rival, a competitor… a partner? …Anything he was to Zoro, it would be over. Zoro would stop being so open with him stop going out of his way to tease and insult him, stop fighting and arguing with him.

It wasn't anything near friendship, and as much as Sanji had always thought he hated it, he was going to miss it. But maybe if he lost that bond, he could finally let Zoro go.

**A/N- Part 1 of 2… Part 2 should be along very soon, and should be around the same length as this.**

**There's a lot of 'Sanji's feelings' explanation at the beginning of this… I hope it's not too boring around that point, and I hope it makes enough sense. I guess I just wanted some establishment for that before I go on with something like this.**

**Anywaaaaayyyy… ZoSan ftw? I feel like I should say more…**

**If anyone's reading 'Better End', I'll let you know here that I have abandoned NaNoWriMo (I suck like that) but I have NOT abandoned the story. I should have it updated soon.**

…**This story right here is to blame. The plot bunny was eating me alive.**


	2. Part 2

It didn't work that way at all, though. As soon as Sanji returned to the ship, he noticed Zoro immediately, having a conversation with Brook as he lifted an excessively oversized dumbbell. When his feet hit the deck, both swordsmen looked at him, but Zoro looked away immediately, and his frown deepened.

That one gesture made Sanji want to curl up and die. His chest felt heavy, like his heart was trying to crawl up his throat. It was first-hand rejection, and no matter how much he'd anticipated it, it ripped him up inside. He barely heard Brook's voice, as he stared, shattered at Zoro's disgusted expression.

"The log's set, Nami-san said." Brook's voice was like an echo behind a shriek in his ear. "She asked me to tell no one else to leave again once they got back."

Realizing quickly that he was staring, Sanji looked down. "Right." He said. "Wasn't planning to." With that, he walked past the pair to allow them to finish their conversation, and toward the kitchen.

Once in the place he felt most at home, Sanji shut the door, and fell against it. He couldn't get that look out of his head. Zoro had been deliberately avoiding his eyes so he didn't get the best angle on it, but the feeling behind it was clear. He was annoyed, grossed out, maybe even pissed off. Whatever the case, it was obvious that this was an inconvenience to him, something he hated, and wished he didn't have to deal with.

Sanji's back slid against the door until his butt touched the ground, and he just sat there on his ass. His legs were sprawled out awkwardly around him, and he didn't care. He wished he could just decide "fuck him, it's over, there's no chance" so he could forget about it. That would be the logical way to go, but logic wasn't working for him. No matter how much sense it made, it wasn't stopping his emotions, no matter how much he begged it to.

It didn't have to be that way, though. He was broken over the rejection, but he could get over that. The biggest problem was the way Zoro would see it, treat it, and treat Sanji in relation to it from then on. He had one more shot and fixing this before everything fell apart for good, and that was to put everything on the line, and above all, keep playing it cool. If he acted like it didn't matter, maybe Zoro would pity him enough to pretend the same.

Sanji decided to give it time, and not rush it. Not because he wasn't one-hundred percent positive that he wanted to confront this, and soon, but because he was becoming increasingly aware of how hard it was to find time to talk to Zoro privately. Especially when he was being avoided.

So he decided to wait, and watch. While Zoro was busy sneaking glares while Sanji wasn't looking, Sanji would look for an opening. But the more times Sanji turned around and saw _that_ face that _had_ been directed at _him_ quickly turn the other way, the more he wanted to give up and just die.

Multiple members of the crew had inquired toward the way Sanji was acting. He'd noticed it himself too. How often he'd miss the cute little things that Nami or Robin did, or find himself lacking the energy to fawn over them at full power. Luffy said he seemed tired, and suggested he make himself a steak or two. Chopper asked if it was the heat, as they were close to a particularly hot summer island, and Sanji went with that answer from then on. Usopp suggested he wear less black, and delirious as he may have been, Sanji even took that advice to keep up the charade.

One thing that comforted him, was that he wasn't the only one being harassed for information he didn't want to share. For Zoro it was even worse, but he simply continued to deny that anything was wrong. He said he "had a lot on his mind."

By the third day since they'd set sail again, Sanji was fed up. He woke up that morning, looked at the ceiling, the empty hammocks on either side of him, and decided he was done. He didn't care where or when or in front of who, he was going to confront Zoro, and tell him all the things he'd planned to for the past three days.

He found Zoro asleep in one of his usual places with Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper fishing not far away. He'd already decided he didn't care what they heard, especially if it was just those three idiots. He stepped up, and for a while, just loomed over the sleeping swordsman. His face was always less peaceful during a daytime nap than when he slept at night. He usually had his mouth hanging open, drool dripping down the side of his face, obnoxious snoring, and today was no different.

Sanji harkened back to the few days during and after he'd confronted his feelings for Zoro. He remembered thinking this kind of behavior was one of the few things about the Strawhat's swordsman that was _cute,_ but right now it just pissed him off.

"Hey Marimo!" He said, loudly. "We need to talk!"

Zoro stopped snoring, and opened his one good eye to peak at Sanji. He made no expression, no insight into what was going on in his head, and shut it again.

"Asshole!" Sanji pulled a leg back and thrust it forward. His foot smashed through the wooden wall underneath the ship's rail as Zoro rolled out of the way.

"The hell, Shit-Cook!" Zoro had taken a sword with him as he rolled, and had already half unsheathed it. That enraged Sanji. Hoping for a fight, was he? Well, Sanji could give him that.

Zoro was almost thrown off by Sanji's speed as he jumped right back in and whirled a heavy kick straight at Zoro's head. Zoro ducked it, and with the Wado, the one sword he'd grabbed, blocked a second blow directed at his midsection.

"What the hell are you doing all the sudden?" Zoro gritted his teeth. Of all the times Sanji could go on one of his rampages of randomness, it had to be while he was sleeping.

"Cut it out." Sanji said, deadpan.

"What?" Zoro pushed away from Sanji as he watched the leg tense for another kick and just barely bent his head back to dodge. After that he took a swing of his own, contacting the bottom of Sanji's shoe to be stopped. "Cut what out?" He spat.

"I already know you know." Sanji stretched out his bent leg, pushing Zoro back a few steps, though not as aggressively as he could have.

Zoro blinked. "What?"

Sanji put both his feet on the deck, stood in his trademark 'cool' stance, hands in his pocket and cigarette bobbing off his bottom lip. "I talked to the fortune teller and she told me what she told you."

Zoro didn't look any less confused. "And?"

Sanji was ready to explode. "_And_ I'm telling you to stop moping around and acting like it's eating you alive or whatever. I'm the one that should be being eaten alive!" He took another half-hearted leg swing at Zoro's head out of frustration, and it was easily dodged.

Zoro stood up straight, out of his former fighting stance, and finally, to Sanji's satisfaction, a serious expression came over him. "So it is true then." There was a pause, then he sighed. "Well, that saves me a lot of trouble…"

Sanji's eyes got bigger in realization. "Wh-What." He gawked. "You mean you didn't already know?"

Zoro shrugged. "I knew she was a real psychic I just wasn't sure I believed her."

"You asshole!" Sanji stomped, thoroughly embarrassed over what he'd just revealed. "You even went back just to make sure! And you've been acting weird this whole time! Now you tell me you weren't sure?"

Zoro smirked, playfully sinister. "Actually I was leaning toward the idea that she was pulling my leg after these last few days." He was going to kill Sanji with his nasty looks, and voice expressions. "But you just confirmed it."

"Oh hell…" Sanji's eyes downcast. His hands began to shake, and he was more than just getting cold feet. He hadn't anticipated this at all, and it caught him off guard. If only he'd just kept his mouth shut, things could have gone back to the way they were. Now he had to beg Zoro to understand that it didn't matter…

"I know exactly what you're thinking." Sanji said quietly, not looking up from the deck, too sick of seeing Zoro's disgusted face. "Stop it." He said. "It doesn't matter that much." He nearly choked on his own words. "I can forget." _No I can't…_ "It doesn't have to change anything."

It took a while for Zoro's voice to come, but Sanji didn't dare look up. "Does that mean you don't want it to change anything?"

Sanji's face got hotter, and he finally couldn't take it anymore. He raised his head to scowl at Zoro, but exploded instead. "Why the hell would I!" Why did the fucking marimo have to be so insensitively difficult even in times like this?

But then something happened that took Sanji by surprised. He'd been to angry to notice at first, but when he really got a look, Zoro wasn't glaring anymore. He wasn't scowling, or glowering, smirking devilishly or apathetically. His face was almost sympathetic, but Sanji had to blink a few times to believe it.

Zoro finally sighed, and looked away from Sanji's eyes, which had been unknowingly staring straight into his for just a little too long as he fumed. "A minute ago you said you knew exactly was I was thinking."

Sanji paused, blinked, and thought back on his words. "Yeah." He admitted. It's not like it was hard to guess.

There was a long pause before Zoro started to speak. In it, Zoro gathered his thoughts while Sanji tried to keep from crumbling to pieces. "The other day when I came back from that place after the first visit, you were cooking." He said. "You looked back as I walked by and caught me in the doorway."

Sanji remembered. The same day it all went to hell.

"Do you know what I was thinking then?" Zoro asked.

"How the hell would I?" Sanji spat tiredly. He was tired of being tense, tired of tripping over every possibility that he might screw something up. Now it was even worse, because Zoro already knew, and Sanji was just waiting for the worst. It was the most painful and awkward feeling he's ever experienced and he wanted it over and done with. He wished he could squish that little firefly spark of hope that fluttered around his head and accept the inevitable.

"You were singing something. I don't know what it was, but you were just going along like that when I came up, like it didn't matter who heard you." Zoro went on, and he noticed that Sanji's whole body was now shaking. "At that time, I thought…" He took in a breath, and Sanji's fists tightened so much that his fingernails nearly made him bleed. "The cook _does_ have a kind of sexy voice."

Sanji froze stiff for the first few moments, just running the words through his mind to make sure he'd heard and interpreted them correctly. He blinked once, twice… and his jaw slowly dropped to speak, but nothing came out.

"SANJI!" Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs, waving his arms in the air. "We caught something awesome!" Before Sanji knew it, Chopper, Luffy and Usopp were running toward him from behind. They surrounded him, Luffy stepping right in front of Sanji's line of sight with the fish in his arms.

"Cook it!" Luffy ordered. Sanji blinked, and look down at the good-sized fish to identify it. "It's a barracuda." He said. "They're pretty much inedible, just throw it back." He might have tried to make a meal of it if it weren't for the fact that they were already more than well stocked since the last island.

"Awww." Luffy pouted, and looked at the fish. "Stupid not tasty fish."

When he looked over Luffy's shoulder to see Zoro, the swordsman was gone.

"But it was such an epic battle!" Usopp flailed. "You should have seen me fight it!"

"What are you talking about Usopp, I caught that fish!" Chopper jumped up and down to be noticed, as opposed to just using his heavy point to grow to their height.

"Are you sure I can't eat it?" Luffy was still pouting, and examined the fish closely.

Sanji hardly heard them talking, and simply walked away from the group as Chopper and Usopp argued over whether or not Usopp had any hand in catching the fish, and as well as yell at Luffy for trying to bite it.

Where the hell did that swordsman go? And what was the meaning of the shit he said?

A sexy voice? Multiple women had told him they liked his baritone when he spoke, that it turned them on, but they'd never heard him sing. It wasn't like he broke out into song often. He did occasionally when he cooked and that was about it. Was Zoro serious, or was he just making fun of the fact that Sanji was singing to himself?

"Sanji." Nami caught him as he rounded the corner that lead to the work-out room, where he was hoping to find Zoro again. "It's been a while, are you planning on making anything for breakfast?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah." He said, realizing that he hadn't made anything at all. "I'd never let you go hungry." His destination was reset to 'kitchen.' "I was just a little busy, I'll get you something right away!"

"You don't have to, I just-,"

"Say no more, Nami-san" Sanji put a finger over her lips, and Nami blinked, surprised. "Just wait a little longer."

Luffy and the others could settle for apples or something until lunch. But Nami and Robin deserved the best, he couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten their nutrition!

He left Nami in an aura of confusion as he walked back toward the kitchen. Sanji was always acting like a love-sick idiot, but every once in a while, somehow his gentleness would take Nami by surprise. He'd make a girl extremely happy if he could ever settle for monogamy… and stop being such a pervert.

Sanji decided on scrambled eggs with some nice soft veggies mixed in. Always the way to go for a good source of protein and vitamins first thing in the morning!

As he cracked the eggs, his mind drifted back to what Zoro said. He'd never been embarrassed about humming or singing softly when he cooked before, even if someone was listening. But now it set him on edge, and he decided it'd be best to stay silent, whether Zoro was serious or just making fun of him.

Either way, Zoro's reaction was somehow comforting, and let him relax a little. If he was teasing, it meant that he wasn't going to hide from it, or be afraid to say things like that and avoid the subject. Things would go back to normal in due time. If he was serious… well, there was really no way-

He froze stiff when a pair of arms snaked around his midsection, and linked in the front. From behind, he felt a firm body press against his back as the strong arms tightened around his waist.

"I thought you'd end up coming here." A husky voice caressed his ear.

"Wh-What the hell!" Sanji had frozen. The undersides of the eggs were burning, but there was nothing he could do. His nerves wouldn't budge!

"Actually I'd been counting on it." Zoro's hands were already roaming, and Sanji's brain couldn't keep up. The breath on his ear and neck, the body snug against his back, the thigh trying to work his way between his, the hands groping his hips and midsection through his clothes… It was like Zoro was a professional at this shit! Like he knew exactly what he was doing… had done it before!

"Zoro!" Sanji tried to shake him off, but Zoro held him still. "Oi, shitty swordsman, let go of me!" He demanded, and kept on struggling. Skinny as he was, Sanji wasn't weak, and Zoro often forgot that. He had to drag Sanji onto the floor so they were both on their knees to keep his hold before he could speak.

His hands loosened around Sanji slowly, to the point where he could stand up and walk away if he wanted to. "I kind of thought we'd be passed the point of you freaking out when I did this…" Zoro attempted to explain himself.

Sanji's head was spinning. One minute he was sure he was going to have to—and more, would be able to ignore his feelings for Zoro and move on. The next, his craziest fantasies were coming true, and he almost wondered if he'd fallen asleep.

In the silence, Zoro finally sighed and let go of Sanji completely. He sat back on his butt on the kitchen floor behind Sanji, who stayed on his knees, frozen in space. "You know, I had my suspicions." He began, and Sanji was glad to hear his voice. It calmed his thoughts. "When she told me someone I knew had those kinds of feelings for me, I never thought it would be any of you…" He paused. "…Especially not you."

Sanji let that sink in, but remained clueless as to what it meant.

"Nami and Robin were both faint possibilities." He said, and just because he knew Sanji would have something to say, and wanted to make the conversation less one-sided, he left an opening there.

Sure enough, Sanji bit. "Idiot." He said, smiling a little, over his shoulder. "As if you could ever be good enough for either of them."

"So what does that make you?" Zoro said carefully. Sanji sighed, and fell off his knees and onto his ass, hands on the ground behind him to hold him upright.

He looked up at the ceiling, and watched the smoke from his cigarette drift upward. "Keep talking." He said. "You said you had suspicions."

"Well what I was really thinking was one of the people we'd only known for a little while, someone we met on one of our many 'adventures', as Luffy would say." Zoro went on. "Maybe someone from a long time ago, or that pink-haired Perona weirdo, or this other chick I met at Saboady the first time, or Vivi…"

Sanji gaped. "Vivi!" He could have punched Zoro in the face, his precious hands aside. "She's a princess, you dimwit! Give me a break!"

"Shut up." Zoro barked back. "I'm just trying to make a point!" He grumbled. "I didn't have any major idea of who it was, I just thought for sure if it was someone on this crew someone would have noticed already!"

"You're leaving out the part where you flipped shit because it turned out to be a _guy…"_ Sanji snorted.

"That didn't bother me." Zoro looked away. "I mean, I was surprised as hell it was _you_, and that was the main reason I didn't believe it because you were always _so _obnoxiously straight." He scoffed. "But…" His face turned read. "…I've been with guys before."

"I didn't need to know that!" Sanji flailed. "Saying it didn't bother you would have sufficed!" Holy hell, Zoro was a homo? But he'd already guessed something like that by the way he'd been touching him before…

"Whatever." Zoro was blushing heavily, and Sanji realized that this was something he'd been hiding from the crew for a long time, and now he'd just revealed it, and probably to the last person he ever expected to. Suddenly, Sanji had a brilliant idea, and grinned deviously.

"What guys have you been with then?" He asked.

Zoro scratched his head, and Sanji watched with an immense amount of satisfaction as his face turned an even deeper read. "No one recently." He mumbled. "I mean, no one you know, even." He'd been pretty celibate since he joined Luffy. Never had the time, interest, or energy, as opposed to before when he was often stuck in the same place for long amounts of time, bored out of his mind.

"So before we met, you mean." Sanji tapped his chin. "Johnny? Yosaku?"

"The hell you moron!" Zoro barked in his face. "I have higher standards than that!"

Sanji through his head back, laughing loudly, and pounding his fist against the floor. Zoro getting all worked up about his sex life was hilarious! It was like Sanji was talking to an entirely different person!

"Are you done?" Zoro growled, and Sanji forced himself to calm down.

"Sorry." He said. "I just thought you were asexual or something." He wiped the water out from under his eyes. Then again, Zoro being a virgin was actually kind of a strange thought as well.

"Not exactly." Zoro grumbled.

Sanji was happy. He was so fucking happy he could cry right there, or maybe dance, or sing… that's right, Zoro liked it when he sang. Here he was, sitting on the floor with the person he loved who'd always hated him, teasing things out of him that no one else knew. Even if it didn't mean Zoro felt anything real for him back, even if things would just carry on as usual, he felt like an immense load had been taken off his shoulders.

He was so lost in that happiness that he didn't notice as Zoro moved. The moment he realized, a pair of lips crushed against his. He couldn't move, wide-eyed as they lingered there for at least three seconds, and then slowly pulled back.

Sanji stared at Zoro, blinking, and then threw his head back again, laughing his ass off.

"The hell is your problem?" Zoro gritted his teeth.

"I'm sorry." Sanji said between outbursts as he tried to calm down. "I'm not laughing at you…" _At least, not anymore._ He gathered himself, and brought his head back down to look at Zoro in the eyes. "I'm just so fucking happy."

Zoro was still convinced that Sanji was just being a fucking weirdo, and decided to shut him up. He moved forward again, this time more slowly, and brought their faces together. The smile on Sanji's face disappeared immediately, his eyes locked onto Zoro's lips, and instantly, he stopped breathing.

Sanji's jaw had dropped open just a little, probably in surprise, but Zoro saw it as an opportunity to skip kissing foreplay. He slipped his tongue out between his own lips and in between Sanji's as they came together. As soon as Zoro's warm tongue entered his mouth, Sanji melted. His hands flew up and fists curled into and pulled at Zoro's hair as tongues fought, twisted, and tangled.

Zoro moved in closer, spreading Sanji's legs to move between them. He'd noticed long before, when they first met, that Sanji had a godly pair of legs. That thought may have gone a little further in the beginning had Sanji not turned out to be such a chick-obsessed douchebag. But that judgment had clearly proven itself false.

It had been a while since Zoro saw Sanji as anything more than the annoying ero-cook, at least sexually. Any desire to court him in the beginning had been stamped out immediately, and since then Sanji had hated him, and he was pretty content with hating him back.

He was beginning to remember the fact that Sanji was the epitome of his type, back when he had a type. From his blue eyes, to the way his hair fell, to his irresistible hips and thighs, Sanji was _sexy_.

He crawled all the way up between Sanji's legs, one hand cupping Sanji's cheek to make sure their mouths stayed molded together until he was done. The other hand, slipping underneath Sanji's shirt to feel his lean, hard stomach and torso. His left knee moved up a little further, and rubbed against Sanji's crotch.

Sanji moaned against Zoro's lips, which nearly drove Zoro insane. That voice, that _fucking_ voice was to die for. It wasn't fair that anyone could have such a perfect, irresistible voice. And god, he was about to hear every single sound it could make.

So, one could understand why Zoro released the most deadly, annoyed growl when Sanji pushed at his chest to stop him.

"What?" He barked, and didn't even wait for an answer before he tried to dive in and take Sanji's lips again, but Sanji pressed a palm against his face.

"Hold on, pervert marimo." He said. He was beyond ecstatic that said pervert marimo wanted him _this_ bad, but…

"What?" Zoro grabbed him by the wrist and ripped it away from his face. He leaned in again, this time past Sanji's lip and against his ear. "It's not like you're a virgin, right?" Zoro's damn knee went back to rolling against his erection. God damn it, could he be any more of a horny bastard?

"I am in some ways!" Sanji protested, pushing at Zoro's shoulders half-heartedly.

Zoro laughed into Sanji's ear, pushing his knee harder against Sanji's groin to assert his point. Sanji gasped, and growled, because that last move almost fucking hurt. "So you've already decided on your position, huh?"

"Well duh." Sanji barked. "Have you looked in a mirror lately? Who in their right mind would have dreams about _dominating_ a muscle beast like _you?"_

Zoro grinned, and bit down on Sanji's ear lobe, hands tugging at the rim of his pants. Sanji hadn't been made aware, but he was rock hard already, and not really big on waiting. "Dreams, huh?" He snickered. "You took this pretty far."

"Asshole." Sanji was almost acting sub-consciously when he lifted his hips so Zoro could pull his pants off. "I don't control what I dream."

Zoro hardly heard him. He'd already moved back a little to take in the sight of Sanji's bare bottom half. Sanji immediately blushed… this wasn't the way his dreams went, for sure. He hadn't really expected Zoro to actually have a desire to _look_ at him… he wasn't a woman.

That hungry look in Zoro's eyes as he stared down at his nether region is what made Sanji's cock leak.

When it did, Zoro lost the ability to resist, and wrapped his hand around it's based. He leaned forward as he started to pump at it, muffling Sanji's moan with another kiss.

"I can't wait that much longer." Zoro said, voice strained between breaths.

"No one told you to wait." Sanji answered, and reached up to brush the back of his knuckles teasingly against the bulge in Zoro's pants. Zoro's eyes nearly exploded from their sockets, and Sanji grinned.

"All right." Zoro grunted, and grabbed Sanji's legs just between his knees. He yanked on them, pulling Sanji off the support of his arm so his back hit the floor with a thud.

"Asshole." Sanji growled, sure his spine may have been bruised in the morning. Zoro barely heard him, far too busy pushing Sanji's legs up and apart. Realizing how fast things were going, Sanji lifted his head to see just how close Zoro was to…

"Holy shit!" He stuck the bottom of his foot against Zoro's face to hold him back.

"What the hell!" Zoro scoffed, wanting to remove the foot, but very content with his hands on Sanji's ass.

"That's… huge…" Little Zoro was already out and about to Sanji's surprise, and… no, he wasn't little at all.

"Thanks." Zoro ducked his head so Sanji's foot fell away from his face, and continued working at Sanji's entrance with his fingers. Sanji laid his head back, and through an arm over his eyes, unable to look.

"I'm going to die." He said.

"Want to read me your will?" Zoro's voice, monotone.

"Asshole Marimo!" Sanji barked. "You can't put that in me!" He began protesting, just because Zoro was being a dick about it.

"Too late for that, cook." Zoro was holding Sanji apart with the sexiest desperate look on his face that Sanji had ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. Best of all, it was because of _him_.

At the last moment, Sanji relaxed himself completely, and Zoro pushed in.

The relaxation disappeared immediately, and Zoro smashed his palm against Sanji's mouth to muffle the scream.

"Idiot!" He shouted, watching the tears well up in Sanji's eyes. "Someone will hear!"

After a moment or two, he removed his hand from Sanji's mouth, and put it back on his hip.

"Asshole!" Sanji gritted his teeth. "You weren't gentle at all!" He curled his fingernails into Zoro's shoulder to avoid calling out. He didn't care if Zoro bled from it, he deserved it after all.

"Sorry." Zoro made the best sheepish face he could within all the bliss he was feeling at that moment. He slipped his hands underneath Sanji's shirt, and pushed it up to his arm pits to get a better view. Though, Sanji's beat red panting face was pretty good in itself, he had to admit.

Zoro started to pull out, and Sanji took that opportunity to adjust himself around him. The first thrust had hurt like hell, but once it rammed against a certain spot within him, it wracked his body with pleasure. When he thrust back in, it happened again, and it took every ounce of Sanji's energy not to call out.

Zoro panted as he started to move faster, eyes fixed on Sanji's red cheeks and wet mouth. He wasn't hearing much though, and that pissed him off.

"Stop stifling your voice." He touched the side of Sanji's face, thumbing at his bottom lip.

"Shut up." Sanji scowled. "Like you said, someone might hear."

"I don't care anymore." Zoro breathed. "I want to hear your voice."

That's right… "_The cook does have kind of a sexy voice." _Well, at least this way he could piss the swordsman off enough to get revenge for that merciless first thrust.

"Please." Zoro suddenly stopped moving, his voice more demanding than pleading.

"Not happening." Sanji replied. "I don't want anyone to hear either." The others would probably assume a fight, but that would also mean they'd come in to make sure no one had been seriously hurt. Especially naïve little Chopper.

"Fuck." Zoro cursed, but couldn't hold back anymore. He went back to thrusting, and didn't dare make it rougher out of spite for fear he'd already torn something the first time. He'd definitely gotten rusty. Two years ago he never would've done that to anyone, let alone a virgin. Sanji was just amazing at pissing him off, he didn't think. At least he knew Sanji was tough… anyone else would have demanded he pull out and ran away.

"What the hell are you thinking about, marimo?" Sanji couldn't believe Zoro was using that dumb 'lost in thought' face while he was _fucking _him. Was he that unappealing? No, Zoro was just that much of an idiot.

"Sorry." Zoro said. "And sorry about before, too." He added.

Sanji blinked, wondering what he was talking about, but then realized, and grinned, quickly reminded of all the reasons he fucking _loved_ this guy.

"The hell are you smiling about now?" Zoro grunted as he continued moving in and out.

"I'm just happy."

"Hey marimo." Sanji's voice came from behind him. Zoro looked back over his shoulder, even though he wasn't supposed to, as Sanji had told him to look away while he got dressed.

Sanji had his back turned, and he was in the middle of buttoning up his usual blue shirt, the one that he usually tucked into his pants. But right now, he wasn't wearing pants yet. The shirt was long, but not quite long enough. It hung down enough to cover all but the very bottom of Sanji's ass, and the moment Zoro looked, he couldn't look away.

It looked fucking _cute_… especially with those deadly, long, perfect legs.

"What?" Zoro asked, not bothering to pretend he wasn't looking.

"What's this mean?" He asked.

Zoro crossed his arms. "Huh?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Sanji sighed. "I'm assuming the fortuneteller lady told you…" He trailed off. "…You know."

"You're asking what happens next?" Zoro finished for him. It wasn't exactly what Sanji wanted to say, but it was good enough. "I don't know." Zoro sighed. "Do you want to have a relationship behind everyone else's back?"

Sanji's nerves relaxed again. "You offering?"

Zoro snickered. "I could go for that."

Sanji smiled to himself. "Good. Now turn the hell around, pervert."

Epilogue

"I have your breakfast, Nami-swan! Robin-chawn!" Sanji danced up to the two ladies, sitting against the aquarium, which created a fitting undersea background for his viewing pleasure.

"You seem happy, Cook-san." Robin smiled cheerfully as she took her plate.

"Took you long enough." Nami said, and set her own plate next to her to take another look at the magazine in her hand. "How's Zoro?" She asked, nonchalantly.

Sanji stared blankly. "The shitty swordsman? Why?"

Speak of the devil, a second later, Zoro walked in. "Cook, where's all the booze?" He asked.

"Oh good you're both here." Nami stood up, interrupting what Sanji was just about to say. She moved until she was between the two of them, and then simultaneously smashed her fist against Sanji's head and jammed her hard heal into Zoro's gut.

"Don't EVER pull that shit in the place we EAT ever again!" She shouted as they both heavily hit the floor.

"Nami… swan…?"

AN- WAHAHAHA… so, I kind of suck at writing sex… I don't do it that often because even though all my stories contain it, it's always . So I'm sorry if it was awkward or anything :x. I have been practicing lately… but I don't know how far that got me.

I know I put some somewhat controversial stuffs in here… like there may have been an almost SanNam moment ('cause I hate when people stick other pairings in my ZoSan!) and some anti ZoPerona… sorry if you like those, or don't like SanNam, or whatever.

Yeah. I just feel the need to apologize for that. Whatever 8D. Because I know how much I'd flail if someone stuck ZoNam in my ZoSan without warning me D:. Boohoo!

**Anyway, I feel kind of loopy. Happy November 14th!**


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